Fruit juice extractor



May 6, 1941. w. E. CLARK FRUIT JUICE EXTRACTOR Filed Feb. 23, 1957 3 Sheets-Shea 1 InvEntUr William E.EIEI"K H'ttUTI'IEfLAE May 6, 1941. w. E. CLARK 2,241,081

FRUIT JUICE EXTRACTOR Filed Feb. 23, 1937 I5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q. I Invenior 30 Z67 By y 1941- w. E. CLARK 2,241,081

VFRUIT JUICE EXTRACTOR Filed Feb. 25; 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 In venior WM HM A til eys Patented May 6, 1941 UNITED STATE PATENT O F FICE ram'r JUICE Ex'rnsc'ron William E. Clark, Winter Haven, Fla. Application rem-um 2a, 1937, Serial No. 121,334

i 1 claim; .(cl. 146-3) The present invention relates to fruit juice ex-.

tractors designed principally for extracting juice from citrus fruits and has for its principal object to provide an apparatus adapted to more rapidly and completely extract the juice without rupturing the oil cells or glands in the peel.

More specifically the invention comprises an apparatus for separatingithe fruit into hemispheres, feeding each hemisphere to knives for partially cutting through the fruit and passing the fruit between extracting rollers, one of which is operated at a greater speed than the other and provided with corrugations to tear out the juice cells from the fruit and remove the same from the flat peel, leaving as much of the rag adhering to the peel as practical.

An object of the invention is to provide a apparatus of this character of simple and practical construction, efficient and reliable in operation, relatively inexpensive to manufacture and maintain in operation and otherwise well adapted for the purposes for which the same is intended.

Other objects and advantages reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout and in which:.-

Figure :1 is a vertical sectional view through the apparatus showing my novel arrangement of rollers and grid.

Figure 2 is a front elevational view, with the front wall removed to show the rollers and grid.

- Figure 3 is a fragmentary detail view of one of the adjusting screws for the extracting rollers. Figure 4 is a detail view of the lack shaft. Figure 5 is an end elevational view of one of the feed rollers.

Figure 6 is a similar view of one of the extractor rollers.

Figures 7 to 10, inclusive, are transverse sectional views through the feed trough taken respectively on the lines 1-4, 0-4, t!, and iO- ll of Figure 2.

,Referrlng now to the drawings in detail,

the cutting edge positioned within the trough I to severthe frult'intohemispheres as thefsame arefed to the knife. Below-the knife "I the trough I branches into a pair .of troughs H-l i, each of identical construction and arranged to receive the respective halves of the fruit as the same are cut. As more clearly illustrated in Figure 8 of the drawings the troughs Ii, at their upper ends have their open sides positioned in opposed relation with respect to each other to receive the hemispheres of fruit. as they are severed, each of the troughs having their open sides oppositely twisted outwardly in a manner as clearly illustrated in Figure 2 of the drawings to present the flattened surfaces of the fruit into position for engagement by a pair of circular knives I2 mounted in pairs in spaced relation upon a shaft i3 iournaled in the'sldes I of the casing adjacent the lower ends of the troughs II. The troughs H are also provided with covers 44 to retain the fruit in position in the troughs. As more clearly illustrated in Figures 7 to 10, inclusive, the troughs I and l I have their walls concaved longitudinally as shown at ii to conform more uniformly with the curvature of the side walls of the fruit and to prevent twistin of the fruit in the troughs while moving along the same.

The knives ii are arranged to cut partly through the flattened surface of the sections of fruits and mounted on the shaft l3; between each pair of knives I2 is a toothed feed roller 16 for gripping the flattened surface of the fruits to accelerate the movement of the fruit during the cutting action.

A pair of shafts l6 and l are joumaled in the sides i of the casing immediately beneath the shaft l3 upon which are mounted extractor mils II and feed rolls It, respectively. The rolls l8 and II receive the fruit from-the cutters l2 and the surface of the rolls III are formed with longitudinally'extending ribs 20 which are inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis of .the rolls and converge toward the center of the rolls as more clearly illustrated in Figure 2 of the drawings. rolls II are provided with similar ribs 2|, but of relatively less depth than the ribs 20 of the rolls i8.

A pair of shafts 2! and 23 are journaled in the side I of the casing below the shafts l6 and i1 and have extractor rollers 24 and 25 mountedrespectlvely thereon, said last-named rollers likewise having longitudlnal ribs formed in the sur-- face thereof.

Belt drive means is provided for the several a belt 21 operatively associated therewith for driving a pulley 24 on a jack shaft 2! journaled in the sides of the casing, each end 'of the jack shaft being provided with pairs of pulleys I, the pulleys 30 at one end of the jack shafts 2! are connected to pulleys ii on the shaft II by a belt 32. the other end of the shaft ll having a pulley 33 connected to a relatively larger pulley 34 by a belt l5,v the pulley 34 being mounted on the upper shaft 9. A pair of pulleys 34 and II are also mounted on the shaft I and are respectively connected to pulleys 34 and "by belts 44 and 4| for driving the shafts l2 and II.

The pulleys 30 at the opposite end of the jack shaft 29 are connected to pulleys" and 43 by belts 44 and 45 for driving the shafts 22 and 23.

The pulleys II for operating the feed rollers i9 is larger than the drive pulley 84 and also larger than the pulley 83 'on. the shaft l4 and accordingly the rollers II will be rotated at a greater speed and accordingly as the sections of fruit pass between the rollers l4 and I! the juice cells will be thrown away from the peel and thrown downwardly and outwardly against the front wall 44 of the casing where the same will be deposited in a trough 41 in the lower portion of the casing and removed to a suitable receptacle. A grid 48 extends between the extractor rolls II and It downwardly between the rolls 24 and 2| to catch the peel and remove the same from the casing.

It will be understood that the belts for driving the respective pulleys are arranged to rotate the several shafts in a direction to facilitate the feeding of the fruit downwardly and the shafts Ii and 22 .are mounted in blocks 44 slidable in openings II in the walls of the casing and engaged by a threaded bolt ii for adjusting the rollers ll and 24 relative to the rollers l9 and 25, respectively.

It is believed the construction and operation of the apparatus will be readily understood from the foregoing without further detailed explanation thereof.

The present embodiment of the invention has been described in considerable detail merely for the P p ses of exempliilcation since in actual practice it attains the features of advantage enumerated as desirable in the statement of the invention and the above description. I

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new is:

A juice extractor for citrus fruits comprising, means for cutting the fruit into sections, a Juicereceiving trough arranged adjacent the lower end of the extractor, an arcuate rind and pulp separator grid extending over and beyond one longitudinal edge of the trough, a pair of parallel primary juice extracting rollers arranged above the grid for receiving the sections of the fruit, with one roller disposed completely on the inner side of the grid, and the other roller partially in front of the grid. means for conveying and delivering the sections of fruit from the cutting mechanism to the primary Juice extracting rollers above the arid. and a secondary pair of parallel rollers disposed between the trough and the primary rollers and directly above said trough, the grid lying between the rollers of the lastmentioned pair of rollers.

.WHiLIAM E. CLARK. 

